Contributor

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Intel's going to cop a supreme load for this. But, out of curiosity, why didn't Intel simply sell these chips as with these components enabled for a higher price? Or even lower the overall price? Seems like a waste overall.

Furthermore, if CPU components can be unlocked via software, then maybe could this applied to all processors? Like removing the CPU multiplier cap, without an Extreme Edition version?

Contributor

They must have included special instructions or something if it's a permanent unlock. Or it might be only for Gateway PCs so it done at each Windows boot with OEM software. Historically the multiplier and cache are hardware locked and need modding to unlock.